Back on the T20 Track

One of the easier ways to get foot-into-mouth is to make forecasts on cricket. Two posts ago, I confidently declared the Black Caps would be beaten 2-0 by India in the T20 series, on the basis that NZ have barely won a game in ages in this format, and were up against the "world champions" (I detest the usage of the term in a T20 context) for chrissakes. But then, all of us feel compelled to stick our predictive necks out before a series, if only for the fun of it, right? Anyway, the team I unashamedly support won in the end, so I'm happy. I wonder if the Black Caps can similarly prove me wrong in the tests? Now that would be something.

The thing about T20 cricket is, despite it's undoubted appeal, players don't seem to know how seriously to take the whole deal. MS Dhoni, for example, shrugged off the loss (as he probably should) but as captain of the reigning champions he must be feeling the bite deep down, while his side's intensity levels were lower than what you might expect. You could put it down to the early-tour blues. Daniel Vettori was furious after his side went down in Sydney by one run, and as a result the kiwis were on the ball even more during those two games. I suppose Vettori feels his side is a real contender for the T20 World Cup in June this year, and is keen to erase NZ's reputation as perennial semifinalists. NZ seem to have made chasing into an art form, though they needed Brendon McCullum's brinkmanship to see them through in the second game. The excitement of the finish was rather artificial however, and crowd trouble left a bad taste in the mouth.

Not much can be read into the results of these two games, but NZ have perhaps found the right balance in their limited overs setup. Having Jesse Ryder and Jacob Oram back has eased the pressure on the players who battled their way through the Australian series, and I'll be most interested to see if Ryder can finally deliver the goods during the one-day series. I wasn't overly impressed with the way the kiwis handled Harbhajan Singh, and he will be a real threat on the remainder of the tour. Ian Butler made an impressive return on home soil, and could be an effective death bowler during the one-day series. Jesse Ryder chipped in usefully too, which is great news because the fifth bowler slot was a big problem in Australia.

India ran into problems batting first because a)it suited the NZ gameplan perfectly, and b) they lost wickets too frequently for any of their batsmen to make a real impact. Sehwag was awesome in patches, Raina played a responsible knock in christchurch, and Yuvraj looked to have the game by the scruff of the neck in Wellington, but by and large they were out-thought by the kiwi slower bowlers. Vettori was his usual miserly and penetrative self, and no doubt the Indians will have a plan on dealing with him in the upcoming one-dayers. I'd like to see Praveen Kumar come in for Irfan Pathan next week, as he might be a real handful in these conditions. Pathan bowled some wonderful deliveries in his last couple of overs at the Basin Reserve, but proved too hittable otherwise.

By winning the series 2-0 NZ have thrown down the gauntlet to India for the one-dayers, the format they are most comfortable with, and the visitors' response should make fascinating viewing. Perhaps the bigger gain is the fact that they've found their ideal combination for the big tournament ahead later in the year.